Not to quote the Beauty And The Beast theme song--but it's a Tale As Old As Time: It's a given that whenever you are at a dine-in establishment, you are seated and waited on-that you tip your server(s) for what they do for you. No debate there. You just do it because YOU SHOULD. The amount of the tip is always reflective of the service you receive and is a percentage of your bill. I'm usually a 20% tipper unless something is really off or bad that's service-related (we get ignored for a large period of time, something we asked for was never brought to the table, order was turned in wrong, etc). I don't penalize the server if the food isn't good or isn't cooked correctly. First of all, that's not fair because they had nothing to do with that (unless you order something specific like a steak well-done and it comes back medium rare--then they didn't provide clear instructions to the kitchen when they turned the order in). Second-sometimes liberties are taken with an order in the kitchen due to lack of supplies (we're out of baked potatoes so we substituted french fries). Lots of variables-but it's all based on your experience.

Waiter Serving Group Of Female Friends Meeting For Drinks And Food In Restaurant
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smiling couple paying for dinner with credit card
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Hence the topic of this piece--Should You Tip On To-Go / Carry-Out Orders at Midland-Odessa restaurants? My answer has always been NO. Tips don't go to the cook or to the kitchen-they go to the server who is ringing up your order. They did NOTHING except reach for the bag containing your order, place it on the countertop in front of you, and tell you how much you owe. They didn't bring anything to a table, they didn't check on you multiple times over an hour or so during your meal to be sure you had everything you need. Most of the time, they weren't the ones who took your order in the first place-it was someone else.

Customer paying at a cafe with credit card
jacoblund
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So what exactly are you tipping them for if they haven't provided you a service? Some people feel obligated to do so because when they run your card at the register and the slip comes out with the TIP line on it--you feel bad drawing a line through it and writing in the original total and signing. DON'T. You haven't received service so there's nothing to tip. What do YOU think? Add your comments below!

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